As the great tower of the Delve fell, its inhabitants scuttled out of their hiding places, bathed in light, retreating down the city streets while their cousins fled. The Dreamstriders glided as far as their flapping appendages could take them, while the Obscaurus and Nervestalkers ambled away like headless chickens, knowing that the end had probably come for their once fair home.
Yet, their torment was nothing compared to the pure, seething anger of the two Greycloaks as they felt the arena give way under them. Both fell, seeing nothing but the fury in the others’ face, as the Archon and his Hybrids plummeted right down with them to the cracked foundations of the tower.
The plumes of smoke and ash threw a sheath of sapphire dust across the city, obscuring the view of anyone within its walls. For Ethan, floating down on his skeletal wings, the picture of desolation that they’d emerged into was now complete: this dungeon Delve was all but annihilated.
He knew this wouldn’t be enough to stop his enemies. But it would buy him enough time to wound them, and formulate some kind of new strategy.
See, Sys?! he cried in his mind. See what you can do when you think outside the box for a change?
His System’s reply was garbled in the roar of the tower’s collapsing innards. But it was probably nothing that sang his praises.
Finally he barreled into the ground and tasted the stale, dust-caked air around him. He was standing in a sightless void, now – reminiscent of the nightmare worlds the tower’s Nervestalkers had shown him before he emerged again.
But it probably wouldn’t last. So, just to be sure, he let his next little trick trickle out of the pores of his skin and seep into the air around him.
Because the crashing tower had killed at least a few little critters in this forsaken city. And that meant he had enough spirit cores for a new upgrade.
His eyes traced the letters in the deep dark of the world he’d created:
Summon Mana Veil (Grade E)
You create a dense layer of fog 50ft wide. Any targets within this fog must pass an Intelligence check (INT: 30+) or be {Silenced} for the duration they remain within the fog.
{Silenced} targets cannot cast spells.
Spirit Cores required to upgrade further: 500
Grade D = Intelligence Check increased! 50+
He nodded once, in totally silence, and let the upgrade run its course.
If he couldn’t beat the Lightborn, he could stun him. And then…whatever. He’d think about that when it came to him.
He’d made it out of worse than this. He’d made it out of his shitty life on earth, he’d made it out of that piss-filled cave with nothing but a rat as his first Hose, and he’d made it this far, right?
So, he’d make it out of this mess, too. They all would.
They had to. But…how?
His mind suddenly raced towards something Jun’Ei had told him as they parted in the dream-realm. Something that, up until this point, had only started to really nag at him:
In this world, we are all prisoners…
He had a hunch. And it was better than nothing.
The Lightborn had his strength, true. His weakness wasn’t in his physical defense.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
But the trials of the Nerve Tower had taught Ethan that there were other weaknesses one could exploit.
So, he decided he’d try a different approach.
----------------------------------------
Artorious clutched his bleeding eyes, feeling them slot back into place as he swept his rapier through the darkness of the dense fog that now surrounded him.
His knees buckled, and with a roar of fury, he punched his shinbones back into place with a bloodied fist.
Where…is he…
He activated his Azure Edge skill – something he normally reserved for clearing away toxins and poisons spouted by remnants of Gyko’s armies. A crescent arc of turquioise ripped through the dust cloud and showed the twilit sky above – but only for a moment.
Another, very different kind of fog suddenly closed over the sky again.
“A Mana Veil,” he said aloud, cursing himself for his own impudence yet again.
He stalked through the mists, hearing nothing but sounds of clashing blades and screaming creatures. Carliah would finish the Hybrids off no matter what little tricks their leader pulled out his hat.
It was his job to see this through to the end.
He activated his AOE blast ability – Spear of Kaedmon - plunging his sword into the ground and twisting its hilt. A miasma of light spread forth from the blade and struck out at the corners of the darkness that surrounded him.
And that’s when he heard it – the sound of rushing air, and a blade being drawn from its scabbard.
…got you.
He twisted his rapier out the ground with the precision of a man who’d seen more winters on his back than any other in all of Argwyll.
But what he saw stopped his hand before it could make its mark.
----------------------------------------
“WHERE ARE YOU LITTLE URCHINS!?”
Carliah Argent flew through the fog of darkness, her broadsword cleaving clean through whole plumes of dust as she rampaged towards the general direction of the giggling hybrids that were tormenting here.
“Missed me!” the catgirl hissed. “Come on, old lady. You know, you really ain’t livin’ up to your name.”
“Little bitch! I’ll drape your skin over my fortress once I cleave it from your bones!”
She went on slashing and flailing in the darkness, her left arm crippled from her fall. She walked with a slight limp, but none of her assailants dared come within striking distance. Even without Onixia, that woman could hit like a truck.
On the perimeter of the shadow-wreathed battlefield, sequestered amid the wreckage of the Nerve tower’s foundations, Fauna kept up her healing wind on Klax. Her hands thrummed with emerald energy, sealing up his wounds, while Tara kept the mad maiden of the Greycloaks distracted with her dancing.
“Looks like Ethan decided Plan B was our best bet,” the old wolf murmured. “Still, I never believed he could bring the whole damn tower down on – urgh!”
Every few seconds the healing spell would fizzle. But Fauna wasted no time. She just clapped her hands together and got right back to doing her job.
“Calm yourself,” Fauna commanded as she stitched up his wound in the dark. “You’ve been through worse than this, haven’t you? We all have.”
Klax looked down at her as Tara sent another trail of arrows to pierce through the Greycloak’s neck. Enraged, she sent a plume of scintillating energy towards the skies, where she struck at nothing but mystic air – the very fog Ethan had summoned up. The thing those damn Obscaurus had used so well against them.
The Greycloak Commander wasn’t going to be fooled for long. Tara could dance around her, picking away at her every few seconds, but unless they did some real damage soon, they’d be doing nothing more than prolonging the inevitable.
He Appraised her through the cloak of darkness, just to confirm his suspicions:
CARLIAH ARGENT
HP: 2155/3000
Yep. They had to think of something fa-
The Hopla’s magic fizzled again, sending an energy spike into his veins.
“Argh!” he growled. “Faun, you know you-“
“What did I tell you?” the rabbitgirl huffed right back at him. “Stop your complaining and soldier up. We’ve got a fight to win.”
This would normally be the time when the Lycae would take charge of the situation. But, looking down at Fauna’s bloodied forehead, determined eyes, and partially singed whiskers, he allowed himself a brief moment to smile.
“You’ve changed, you know.”
She didn’t look up at him.
“Stop talking. You need to conserve your strength.”
He laid a firm hand on her paw, feeling her shaking, knowing that she was just as scared as the rest of them were.
“Not a moment’s hesitation,” he said. “Not a single stutter. You’re not the Fauna you once were.”
She pushed his smiling face aside and tried to get back to his wounds. “Don’t say weird stuff like that right now. Focus on-“
He stood, bringing her up with him.
“Don’t waste your energy on me, Faun,” he told her. “I’m tough enough to see this thing through to the end. Just like you are. I’m only sorry I didn’t realize that sooner.”
The way she looked at him at that moment, eyes glowing even against the abyss that swirled around them – it was as though it was the first time she’d really seen him in a long time.
“It’s him – isn’t it?” the wolfman murmured. “Our Archon has that kinda effect on people.”
In the darkness, Fauna grinned. Her nod was slight, but it was clear as day.
“UH – GUYS!?” Tara shouted through the din of Carliah’s screaming and tearing at the fog. “I could use a little – what’s the word? Oh yeah – FUCKING HELP.”
Klax lifted Fauna on his shoulders, squaring up and steeling himself, ready to charge headfirst into the flailing form of their foe.
“Let’s show this bitch what hybrids are really made of.”